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Piezo only Precision Bass

#21
That Explorer looks fantastic Jimmy.

Found the photo of the Fretless Tune bass from I think around 84/85.
Tune_fretless_Bass.JPG
 
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#26
2saddleslab said:
Love the minimalist P bass vibe. Can't wait to hear it.
Click to expand...

Same goes for me! I love the LOOK...but since I play a piezo-only bass (my Carvin AC50) I have to say something. And that is a Piezo pickup is great. And they tend to be very "percussive" which I find can be extremely useful musically! And I'm really impressed you built it 5 string. Note that my AC50 was strung with a high C for a long time for solos too! Worked VERY well.

But my comment is that I'm really wishing that my Carvin had both magnetic and a piezo so you could mix and match and change the tone character from piezo to magnetic as desired. Sorry to be a negative nancy about piezo-only, but now you DO have me thinking about adding a piezo bridge to my Squier 5 string PJ!

In fact, now that I think of it a P-Piezo rather than a PJ might make for a far better balanced combo! (My PJ doesn't balance out between pickups especially well)

Nevertheless I still can't wait to hear it!
 
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#27
Thanks for all the nice comments.

Okay... Here's a sound clip. I recorded the clean signal in Garageband. Yup, it's pretty much straight up. I just added a touch of reverb. I guess all of you understand that there are endless EQ possibilities to work with from here on. So I figured it is more relevant to listen to the clean signal. (Sorry about the faint high-pitch noise. It's from my crappy sound card).

That said, of course the bass sounds much better in my Ampeg/Glockenklang rig.

Here's me noodlin' over an old Parker tune.

Enjoy,

/M
 

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#28
Super Iridium said:
That's a seriously cool looking P. So the pickup is built into the bridge? Doesn't that tend to overemphasize the higher harmonics over the fundamental? I'd like to hear a sound clip when you get around to it. I bet a fretless version would sound cool too.
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Yeah, you get some "brights" (which I like). But then again, you also get massive bass to work with. The way I've understod things, the frequency span of a piezo in much larger than with mags. Through my rig I haven't sounded this "big" and "bassy" since the double-bass days.

And yes, I think piezos are more often seen on fretless basses. I guess it has to do with the natural acoustic-like sound you get with piezos. Most people associate it with fretless. But I like the combination of fretted precision and piezos. That was the sound I wanted. And got.
 
#32
Neat. I think it sounds best in the high range, but a little weird in the low range, like a synth. I'm sure this is because you are getting everything the strings are producing(and because you recorded direct as you say). You could of course run any kind of strings you might like to try. I think I'd try flats, or maybe some kind of phosphor bronze string.
 
#34
Sounds terrific in the upper register but the lower is not my cup of tea, just doesnt have the bark i like for MY tone. Very Cool looking though, if i saw you playing this at a show i would totally dig it and enjoy hearing how the Pieze P Bass sits in the mix.
 
#35
David Jayne said:
Neat. I think it sounds best in the high range, but a little weird in the low range, like a synth. I'm sure this is because you are getting everything the strings are producing(and because you recorded direct as you say). You could of course run any kind of strings you might like to try. I think I'd try flats, or maybe some kind of phosphor bronze string.
Click to expand...

Yeah. The direct signal is a bit brutal. It sounds much different through my rig.

I will certainly experiment with different strings before I'm there. Right now it's just a set of cheap stainless Warwick strings. I'm waiting on a LaBella delivery that will give me a few options to start with.

Thanks.
 
#36
mohessa said:
Thanks for all the nice comments.

Okay... Here's a sound clip. I recorded the clean signal in Garageband. Yup, it's pretty much straight up. I just added a touch of reverb. I guess all of you understand that there are endless EQ possibilities to work with from here on. So I figured it is more relevant to listen to the clean signal. (Sorry about the faint high-pitch noise. It's from my crappy sound card).

That said, of course the bass sounds much better in my Ampeg/Glockenklang rig.

Here's me noodlin' over an old Parker tune.

Enjoy,

/M
Click to expand...
Wow, that's different! It has almost like a synthesizer/computer generated sound, and not what I was expecting at all. Very cool sound. Thanks!
 
#37
Super Iridium said:
Wow, that's different! It has almost like a synthesizer/computer generated sound, and not what I was expecting at all. Very cool sound. Thanks!
Click to expand...

Yeah. Just like Steve Swallow (during the 90s) the sound has a weird synth quailty. Only it is very much exaggerated here in the clip with direct signal. Through my rig the sound is more natural and balanced – more acoustic, if you want. But the weird quality is certainly still there. And I love it!
 

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